Babysitting Against Their Will
by BFCAS
Summary: It was Beca's weekly lazy Thursday and she planned to spend it doing nothing, just how she liked it. But a discovery in the kitchen leads her to recruit her best friend as they take on the biggest challenge they can as two acapella team captains: a mysterious baby left in their kitchen.
1. Chapter 1

Beca woke up hungry. But then again, there wasn't often a morning where Beca didn't wake up hungry. As she blinked her eyes hard to adjust to the light of the room, her stomach clenched in hunger, letting out a rumble at the same time Beca let out a sigh of annoyance at having to be awake. She laid in bed, wrapped up in blankets and staring at the ceiling for a while before the overwhelming feeling of hunger took over and all she could think about was the leftover lasagna in the fridge that Ashley had made last night.

With a huff of annoyance at the fact that she'd have to travel two flights of stairs, Beca swung her legs out of bed and sat on the edge of the mattress. She checked the time on her phone, the display lighting up with a picture of her, Stacie, Aubrey and Chloe from Thanksgiving as well as the time, which read 09:12. That was approximately an hour and a half too early for Beca, who had no classes and no reason to be out of the warmth of her sheets before 11 at least. She thought about retreating back into the duvet but her stomach cried out in hunger deciding her fate.

Beca stood from the bed, stretching her arms above her head with a yawn. She adjusted her hair on top of her head, knowing full well it would look a mess but it was at least out of her eyes. It was a Thursday so she knew that the rest of the Bellas were probably out of the house anyway; Jessica, Ashley, Stacie and Cynthia Rose at class, Flo at her job, Chloe visiting Aubrey, Fat Amy out with one (or several) of her boyfriends and Lily- well, who ever knew where Lily was when she wasn't in the house?

Beca usually capitalised Thursday's for having a lie in, mixing all day uninterrupted and eating garbage food with none of the other Bellas judging until they all arrived back in dribs and drabs in the late afternoon.

And that was exactly how she planned on spending this Thursday. Starting with a slice of lasagna for breakfast (yes breakfast, she was Beca Mitchell on a day off with nobody to stop her and she would eat lasagna for breakfast if she wanted to) and then trashy daytime TV for a while. Beca pulled on a pair of sweats and a thin dark green jumper over her head, getting fully prepared for her weekly lazy day. She made a pit stop at the bathroom on the way down the stairs, hearing no movement in the Bella house as she peed. After washing her hands and managing the last thirteen stairs as well as the short walk through the living room, Beca walked into the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she walked to the kettle, flicking the switch to boil some water for a coffee, before making a sleepy stumble to the fridge.

Beca swung the doors open and her eyes were scanning the fridge shelves for her slice of lasagna when she heard a small noise come from the kitchen island. Beca stopped her shuffling of bottles and froze. She straightened slowly, her ears straining to catch another noise. She waited a moment before the noise sounded again. It was a… hiccup?

Beca span on her bare heels to face the centre of the room, a milk bottle in hand as a (fairly useless but DIY) weapon, her other hand in a lame ninja pose to make her look more threatening. Her eyes scanned the room quickly before landing on something even more unexpected than a hiccuping robber or axe murderer.

There, sat in a high chair (when had they EVER had a high chair, Beca would come to wonder when she recovered from the shock) was a small person. Like a whole tiny person that Beca judged to be about 8 months from the small teeth and chubby arms. Beca blinked at the baby, not quite knowing what to think. Then the baby giggled at her and she yelped in surprise, dropping the milk onto the floor. The lid flew off and milk splattered everywhere, all over Beca's bare toes. She yelped in surprise again and once again the baby laughed at her. Beca hopped over the milk spill over to the infant in the high chair and crouched the (very short) height distance to bring her nose to nose with the baby who smiled a gummy smile at her. One of the tiny hands reached out as the baby garbled some unintelligible noise and Beca instinctively held out a finger for the baby to grip onto.

"Hey little… Um…" Beca trailed off, her eyes scanning over the blue baby grow and socks the baby sat in.

"Little guy. I'm gonna go with guy. I know, I know, gender stereotypes and all that, but I'm working blind here." Beca spoke bluntly to the little boy in the highchair as his hand curled around her index finger. She had never had come into wilful contact with any baby in her lifetime, so she was working blind in more ways than one. She patted her pocket with her free hand for her phone before realising it was still upstairs where she had left it charging.

"Shit." She swore before her eyes widened and she stumbled a correction.

"I mean, shoot. Damn it- I mean darn it!" Beca fumbled, the baby just staring at her with wide blue eyes, as she cursed. Beca clamped her mouth shut, thinking that better than continually swearing at the tiny boy. There was a second of silence before the boy giggled again, making the corners of Beca's lips quirk up at his tiny giggle.

If you were to ask Beca, she would tell you that "all babies look like sacks of potatoes" because they sort of did. Lumpy, useless and heavy. But as she crouched in front of the mysterious baby in the high chair she couldn't help but admit he was pretty cute. He had blonde wispy hair and bright blue eyes that contrasted with his pink chubby cheeks. His grin, although dribble filled, had five or so small white teeth poking out and his laugh was just on the right side of loud that it didn't make Beca cringe as he giggled. Instead she chuckled at the boy, who took to playing with the girls fingers, twisting and turning them and laughing when Beca wiggled them at him. He tugged on the sleeve of Beca's jumper and pulled at it and for some reason, the movement reminded Beca that she was stood in the kitchen with a baby. Like a baby that shouldn't be there.

She started to panic. There was a baby in the kitchen. A baby. In the kitchen. With her. Beca Mitchell, the least maternal person going. She began to pace the kitchen floor, slipping slightly and grabbing the counter when her bare feet ran over the rapidly warming milk that pooled across the tile.

"Oh my god, oh my god, what do I do? What am I gonna do?" she muttered before turning to the highchair again, putting her hands on the plastic tray attached to the small chair.

"What are WE gonna do?" Beca stared into cerulean eyes framed with light blonde eyelashes. What a day for Beca to be home alone, she thought, handing the infant a satsuma he kept reaching for at the end of his small plastic high chair tray. He instantly began to play with the small fruit as Beca sighed deeply in an attempt to calm herself down. This was not how she pictured her day going. She chewed her lip as she observed the way the satsuma bounced off the raised sides of the tray, making the boy laugh happily, whilst she formulated a plan. She needed assistance. Preferably in the form of a Bella but she was already considering calling Jesse or even Benji at this point. The boys were useless at taking care of their houseplants, so she didn't even want to imagine what they'd be like if handed a baby.

Damn it, where was Jessica and her insane natural mothering instincts or Stacie and her three years babysitting experience or Flo and her time of raising her siblings when she needed them?! She'd even take Fat Amy's help right now- maybe her claims that she'd hand raised pigs and koalas simultaneously would aid the situation.

Seeing that the boy was so preoccupied playing with the fruit, trying his hardest to pierce the orange peel with his tiny fingernails, Beca decided she would run upstairs and try and source some help or at the very least grab her phone. She backed away slowly, trying not to make any noise so the boy would look up from his distraction, and cringed as her bare feet made noise because of the pool of milk she was walking through. The baby carried on playing with the satsuma (simple minds, Beca thought) and Beca made it through the archway to the living room undetected. And so she turned on slippery heels and sprinted towards the stairs.

Even with stupid Bella cardio that Chloe still insisted on doing, Beca was breathing heavily as she got upstairs to her room.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Beca gasped, bending over and grabbing her knees, seeing spots forming in her vision. She really needed to up her cardio as opposed to keep eating pasta dishes for breakfast, she thought briefly before shaking the thought of joining the Bellas on a early morning run out of her mind with a shudder.

She went over to her bedside table, grabbing her phone and putting it into the pocket of her sweatpants before she took a sigh and tried to formulate a plan in her chaotic head. There was a baby abandoned in the kitchen downstairs. All she had at her disposal was a slice of lasagna and a few bottles of green juice. She had no diapers, no formula, no maternal instincts and most of all, she thought, no hope.

No. Beca straightened, puffing her chest out and rolling her sleeves up. I can do this, Beca nodded to herself, I'm Beca effin Mitchell and I'm not going to let a dribbling lump of infant defeat me, not today.

And with her new found confidence (she was attempting to channel Vin Diesel in the Pacifier but it came off slightly more Mrs Doubtfire, Beca reluctantly admitted to herself) she turned back round and walked down the stairs to start her slightly less lazy Thursday.


	2. Chapter 2

Beca clambered down the stairs to the first floor, phone in pocket and armed with a selection of blankets from her closet. It was early October and starting to drop cold in Atlanta and she didn't really know how warm or how cold babies were required to be, so she had four just in case.

She reached the landing where all the rooms of the Bellas were situated- well, except Stacie's and Cynthia Rose's on the ground floor but Beca knew that was empty because their door had been open and she had made a note that it was empty on her way back upstairs. Beca tucked the wad of blankets under her arm and moved over to Flo and Lilly's room, the door covered in police tape and flags from the girls home countries. She knocked loudly on the door, waiting a while but hearing no response or any sign of life from behind the door. She sighed, walking a few foot over to Ashley and Jessica's room. She crossed her fingers that they were in, considering they would probably be the most helpful, but after knocking loudly and calling their names to no avail, she turned around with a disappointed groan.

Beca crossed the landing to Chloe's door, a picture of the Bellas from their 2012 ICCA win tacked on the front. Beca raised her fist and knocked on the door loudly, not hoping for much. However, after the fourth loud knock, she heard a tired groan from behind the door. She stood up straight and gasped happily at the sign of life.

"Chloe?! Oh my god, please tell me that's you? Are you in there? CHLOE?! CHLO?!" Beca shouted as she continually hammered on the door, only stopping when the door swung open and Chloe was stood in the doorway. Beca grinned at the sight of her best friend standing in front of her, leaning on the doorframe with squinting tired eyes and a mass of tangled red bed hair.

"Oh my god, Becs, what are you doing?" Chloe murmured tiredly, clearly only just having woken up and stumbled out of bed. She was still in her pyjamas, the sleep tattoos of her sheets still on her arms and legs. Beca didn't even have the time to question why she wasn't out with Aubrey, seeing as the sight of a sleepy Chloe Beale knocked her for six. She almost dropped the blankets when Chloe ran a hand through her hair, pushing it off her tired face.

"Becs?" Chloe asked again when Beca just stood in front of her, clutching at blankets. Chloe knew it was too early for Beca to have usually surfaced for a Thursday so was confused. At the sound of her friends voice, Beca jumped back into motion, her free hand reaching out to grab Chloe's bare wrist. Chloe let out a yelp of surprise as she was tugged forward by the shorter girl, moving towards the stairs blindly as she was led by Beca.

"Not that I'm not loving the early morning hand holding Bec, because I'm loving it." Chloe teased as she was pulled down the stairs by her friend, who promptly scowled at her over her shoulder. Chloe laughed before carrying on.

"What's the rush? What's happened?" Chloe asked as they reached the living room, Beca still tugging relentlessly on Chloe's hand, pulling her towards the kitchen. She forgot about the milk that was still spilled over the floor and promptly slipped up, almost taking Chloe down with her where she was still holding onto her hand. Luckily, Chloe and her insanely quick reflexes caught Beca around the waist and pulled her up straight so they were both stood upright and flush against each other.

There was a second or so where they stood still in the kitchen, Chloe's strong arms wrapped around Beca's waist and Beca leaning against Chloe's front, just catching their breath and righting their heads.

"Bec?" Chloe murmured in Beca's ear, her arms still wrapped securely around her waist, Beca's free hand that was not carrying blankets resting on top of where Chloe's hands joined. Beca hummed in acknowledgment, ignoring the fact that she could feel Chloe's heartbeat through her thin pyjama shirt.

"Why am I stood in milk as opposed to lying in my bed?" Chloe joked, releasing her hold on Beca to step out of the milk puddle, grimacing at the tepid liquid in between her toes. Beca, without the distracting feel of Chloe's body pressed against hers, jumped back into action, placing the pile of blankets on the kitchen island and averting her gaze from Chloe back to the problem at hand- the small boy still sat patiently in the highchair, his index finger in a satsuma and a long line of dribble falling from his smiling mouth.

"Because! Look! Look at this!" Beca gestured with both her outstretched hands and wide eyes at the baby, who merely giggled in joy and reached out for one of Beca's fingers once more. Beca stepped forward and held her thumb out, the baby grabbing on and playing with her fingers as Beca stared panicked at Chloe, who had not moved a muscle from across the kitchen.

She blinked. Looked at Beca. Looked at the small boy gripping onto her hand. Blinked once more.

"Oh."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading this dumb little story, the feedback has been so lovely to read and everything, so seriously thank you.

Any suggestions are gratefully received because I could write these two forever.

Anyway, on with this story. Let's go.

"Oh." Chloe said, eyes wide and staring at the tiny boy in the highchair who currently had Beca's index finger grasped in his chubby hand. She didn't move from standing in the archway to the kitchen, instead just running a hand through her tangled bed hair and letting it drop to her side. Beca stood in the centre of the room, her free hand tugging at the hem of her olive green jumper as she watched Chloe with wide panicked eyes. The baby continued to play with her fingers, tugging on the digits and waving them in the air with a dribbly grin.

Chloe looked from the boy to her friend again and tilted her head in confusion.

"Is he yours?" Chloe asked as she moved towards the pair of them. Beca laughed, spluttering at the question.

"No, surprisingly I think I'd remember pushing something like that out of my vagina Chlo." Beca sarcastically retorted at her friend who rolled her eyes with a tut as she pulled a chair out from under the dining table, dragging it across the tile until it was next to the highchair.

"I meant did you bring him here smartass." Chloe chided as she sat down next to the highchair, her hands settling on the plastic tray as she leant forward at eye height with the infant. At Chloe's sudden closeness, the boy turned to look at her, Beca's fingers slipping from his grip. Chloe smiled wide and lifted a hand to smooth his blond hair down gently.

"Hey there little man." She spoke softly and brightly to the wide eyed baby, who had since turned away from Beca to face the redheaded girl talking to him. Chloe moved her hand from his hair and tickled under his chin with a cooing noise. In response, the boy erupted into giggles and squirmed joyfully, making Chloe keep on tickling him whilst she giggled along with him. Beca stood above the pair of them, the adorable sight making her smile.

After a moment of silently watching them, Beca shook herself back into action, moving across the kitchen to get paper towels to clean up the pool of milk. As she knelt down to clean the liquid up, she heard Chloe begin to talk to the tiny boy.

"Oh you want this huh? Did that nasty Beca not do it for you? What a grump, hey?" She spoke to the boy, making Beca kneel up and look over to the pair.

"Hey!" She shouted in protest, making Chloe laugh as she peeled the satsuma that was sat on the tray, stacking the pieces of peel into a small pile on the kitchen island before separating the fruit into segments in her lap. She handed the boy a segment which he took with a smile before transferring it to his mouth. He bit into it and a line of juice dribbled down his chin but Chloe's index finger gently wiped it away before it dripped onto his light blue baby grow. Beca had to again shake herself from watching Chloe and the little boy interact, mopping up the last remnants of milk from the kitchen tile. She stood and threw the wad of damp paper towel into the bin listening as Chloe talked nonsense to the baby about how clever he was eating fruit all by himself.

"What are we going to do?" Beca asked from the sink as she washed her hands, looking over her shoulder at Chloe who looked up from the little boy as she handed him another segment of satsuma.

"What do you mean?" Chloe looked confused for a second before she smiled at the little boy again, breaking her gaze with Beca who was moving towards the pair again, coming to a stop next to Chloe. She leaned on the kitchen island behind Chloe's chair and leant down, one arm resting on the counter and the other resting on Chloe's shoulders. The seated girl looked up briefly at the sudden weight on her shoulder, smiling up at Beca before turning back to the little boy.

"He's not mine. I came down this morning for lasagna and he was just…" Beca waved her hand in a vague gesture at the baby before dropping it back onto Chloe's shoulder. "Here."

"Lasagna? Becs really?' Chloe sighed in disappointment at her friends poor diet, shaking her head as she raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Really picking the wrong thing to focus on Chloe." Beca deadpanned, watching as Chloe wiped the little boys mouth again, making him giggle as he chewed the orange fruit. She then leant down, snatching a piece of the satsuma from Chloe's lap, throwing it into her mouth before Chloe could stop her.

"Well, whose is he then?" Chloe asked confused, leaning back in her chair and looking up at Beca, who just shrugged with wide eyed panic.

"I don't know! He was just here! No one else, no note, no nothing! What are we gonna do? I'm freaking out man!" Beca rambled, her voice growing progressively louder with each panicked statement. The source of her panic, sat with a mouthful of satsuma, was startled by her shrill tones and stared up at her. Chloe grabbed Beca's hands, stopping her in her rambled tirade, knowing if Beca got any louder she would make the little boy cry and then they'd really be screwed.

"Okay, okay, calm down. We can handle this." Chloe reassured her, squeezing her hands. Beca shut her mouth and nodded, comforted by her friends confidence. "You text the others and I'll finish giving this little guy some breakfast." Chloe told Beca as she turned back to continue feeding the little boy. Beca hummed in agreement, pulling her phone out of her sweatpants and starting to compose a text in her mind to send to her contact list.

As the little boy finished the last slice of satsuma, Chloe clapped her hands and grinned widely at him, laughing along with him as he giggled at her smiling face. His sticky hands reached out and tangled in her red hair, making Beca instinctively reach out to pull his hands away in protectiveness over her friend but Chloe gently untangled his fingers and waved his hands around in hers before Beca reached them.

She's a natural, Beca thought with a small smile as she watched Chloe play with the boy, making him giggle as her fingers tickled his tummy and she made funny noises at him. After a minute or so of watching the two of them, Beca was pulled from her thoughts of what Chloe's kids would look like by the subject of said thoughts tapping on her arm.

"Go and grab me some juice for little guy please Becs?" Chloe asked, still in her baby voice, not taking her eyes off the little boy. Beca moved to the fridge, opening the doors and scanning the contents for a moment before seeing the carton of apple juice in the door. She held the carton in her hand, looking at the tray of saran wrapped lasagna that sat on the shelf in front of her eyes. It took her a half second of arguing with herself before she picked the tray up too and kicked the fridge door shut. She set both items on the kitchen side, moving over to the cupboard with all of the cups in it and opening it, Chloe's bright yellow one immediately catching her eye. She picked that, a small plastic red beaker and a normal glass out, setting them on the counter. She then poured a small amount of juice into each cup, capping the carton when she was done and then transferring it back into the fridge. She picked up the two plastic cups and brought them over to Chloe, who smiled and thanked her.

Chloe carried on talking to the little boy, holding the cup up to his lips slowly and carefully so he could have a drink. He took a small mouthful so Chloe lowered the cup and wiped the excess away, waiting patiently for him to finish as she sipped at her own juice. Beca, on the other hand, drank half her juice in one go and then peeled back the saran wrap on the cold lasagna. She opened the cutlery drawer and retrieved a fork that she promptly stabbed into the pasta before picking up the tray and her glass and moving back over to the other two people in the room.

"Oh wow. Really Bec?" Chloe laughed at her friend as she shovelled a mouthful of pasta into her mouth. Beca chewed obnoxiously, pointing her fork at Chloe.

"It's the stress. I'm stress eating." She stated through a mouthful of lasagna. Chloe shook her head at her friends manners wondering briefly how she ever found the younger girl attractive. (Truth was, stood there in her sweats with bed hair and a mouthful of pasta, Chloe found her utterly adorable. Not that she would say it out loud. Nope.)

Chloe laughed and returned her focus to the boy, who had finished a good few mouthfuls of juice before he retracted from the cup with a whine, signifying that he was done. Chloe put down the cup on the counter and wiped his face a final time, before starting up another round of peekaboo with him to keep him occupied as Beca text their friends to find out just who the baby belonged to. Well, when she wasn't shoving large mouthfuls of Italian food in her face that was.

After five minutes of companionable silence as Chloe played with the baby and Beca ate her 'breakfast' and text people to no avail Chloe furrowed her brow and her hands stilled on the plastic tray. She frowned as she sniffed the air, an unknown smell hitting her nose. She looked up and over to her friend who was leaning on the kitchen island, chewing on a mouthful of food.

"Jeez Becs is that you?" Chloe grimaced, straightening in her chair and staring accusingly at the younger girl, who looked up from her phone with wide innocent eyes.

"Huh?" Beca asked, perplexed at Chloe's question.

"I know you said you were stressed but oh my god." Chloe replied, holding her t shirt over her nose at the foul smell that filled the room.

"Hey, it's not me!" Beca protested, standing straight with a cross face at Chloe's accusation. Chloe just shrugged and looked Beca up and down quickly.

"I don't know, you can let out some pretty bad smells. Not totally unbelievable." Chloe teased, hiding her smile under her t shirt that she still held over her nose protectively. Beca gasped in offence, crossing her arms and drawing her eyebrows.

"I haven't farted, oh my god!" Beca replied defensively, pointing her fork at Chloe who just laughed. Beca scowled, throwing her fork on the side before turning back to face Chloe. In an attempt to see what Chloe was even talking about, Beca breathed in the air through her nose, trying to smell whatever it was that had made Chloe accuse her.

She regretted it almost instantly as the overwhelming stench of something deeply unpleasant hit her nostrils. She dry heaved before clamping her sleeve covered hand over her nose and mouth. She knew exactly what Chloe was talking about now, though she can't say that she's ever let out anything quite that foul so she's slightly offended that Chloe would think to blame her first.

"What the actual fuck is that, oh my god." Beca exclaimed, her words muffled by the fabric of her jumper. Chloe laughed again, this time Beca joining her after a moment. They laughed at each other's reaction to the foul smell for a few seconds before they quieted again, still shielding their noses from the mystery smell.

"It's not you, is it?" Beca asked with a raised eyebrow at her red haired friend who promptly narrowed her eyes in retort.

"No douchebeat, it's not me." Chloe replied.

"Well it isn't me and it's not you then who else is it gonna-" Beca started before she was interrupted by a garble of non sensical speech from between the two girls. Both of them looked down simultaneously and sighed as they finally realised just what the stench was coming from- or more fittingly who.

"Oh shit." Beca grimaced.

"Literally." Chloe concurred.

The little boy just laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

Here we go, the next installment in this dumb little story. This chapter is a little longer to make up for the wait.

Keep the theories as to who the baby belongs to coming, I'm loving them. No one's got it right yet...

Anyway, hope you enjoy! Thanks for sticking with it.

Chloe and Beca stared at the baby who was currently protruding a strong stench for a moment as he laughed. Then they snapped back to look back at each other, both pointing at the other.

"You do it!"

"Go on Chlo!"

The girls shouted over each other before dropping their hands simultaneously and raising an eyebrow at the other.

"Me do it?"

"Why am I cleaning it?"

There was a beat of silence before they began to yell again.

"You found him!"

"I can't do it, I'll hurl!"

They both sighed in defeat, knowing that there would be no volunteer in this situation. Neither girl made a move however, both still covering their noses and looking at each other. Beca spoke first after a while of intense stare down.

"Rock paper scissors? Loser cleans the shit up?" She challenged, holding her free hand out in a fist to lay down the challenge to her friend. Chloe shook her head almost instantly, reaching across the gap between them to push Beca's hand away.

"No way Mitchell, you'll play some mind game and I'll end up having to clean up poop. Not falling for it." She stated. Had one of her hands not been preoccupied with saving her sense of smell with an impromptu t shirt gas mask then she would've crossed her arms in finality. She settled for a half hearted nod as Beca retracted her hand, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, fiddling with it as it got temporarily tangled in one of earrings.

"Well one of us has to. And if I do it I'm fairly certain this lasagna will come back up." Beca said, patting her stomach over her baggy jumper to illustrate her point. Chloe rolled her eyes very obviously at her friends melodrama, deciding that Beca 'Stubborn-Is-An-Understatement' Mitchell was not changing the baby if it was the only thing left to do on Earth.

"Screw it." Chloe muttered before she took in a gulp of somewhat fresh air (she hadn't yet showered but the smell in her t shirt was far fresher than the stench permeating the kitchen currently) and stood upright. Beca jumped at Chloe's sudden movements, as well as the small boy in the highchair who Chloe promptly unbuckled from the straps in the plastic chair and lifted with a hand under each armpit. He let out a high pitched squeal at the sudden lifting and carried on garbling as Chloe stood in the middle of the room holding him at arms length towards Beca.

"What do I do what do I do?!" Chloe yelled as she held him up. Beca waved her hands in front of her, putting a physical barrier between her and the baby. With wide eyes she looked back into Chloe's panicked ones, hopping nervously from side to side.

"I don't know dude!" Beca shouted exasperated, pushing Chloe and the boy towards the sink when she saw the bottom of the baby grow begin to drip onto the floor. Chloe yelped at the sensation of Beca's hands on her waist, pushing her firmly towards the large kitchen sink and then stopping her with a definite squeeze as she moved the plates that were sat in the sink onto the side frantically. Chloe held him over the basin for a second, making eye contact with the thoroughly confused infant before she turned to Beca, who was stood shoulder to shoulder next to her. Beca looked back at her with wide eyes as she nervously wrung her hands together.

"Well go on then." Chloe nodded purposely to the suspended boy, making Beca shake her head in confusion.

"Go on what?" Beca stammered, hands stilling in their motions as she stared into Chloe's eyes, ignoring the babbling sounds from the clueless baby who was still being dangled over the basin. Chloe again nodded in the direction of aforementioned baby before shrugging.

"Take his clothes off." She instructed. Almost instantly, Beca erupted into a tirade of spluttering and gasping in protest. She paced a short distance for a moment before coming back to stand close to Chloe again, her hip touching hers.

"Dude, no! It's not even mine! I don't want to see his junk!" Beca burst out, waving her hands at the little boy who merely dribbled in response. Chloe sighed, her arms beginning to ache with holding the baby up in the air.

"He's a baby Beca, he doesn't even really have junk. Sack up!" Chloe chided her, making Beca snap her mouth shut and stand still. With a final stern look from the redhead, Beca groaned in anticipation of the unpleasant task that she had been given.

"Bec!" Chloe urged, really starting to feel a burn in her biceps from holding the boy in the air as Beca just stared at him.

"Okay, jeez, okay!" Beca snapped, jumping into motion by stepping forward. She jumped up and down on the spot, shaking her hands and stretching her neck from side to side, psyching herself up for the final step.

"C'mon Beca you can do it, it's just some clothes, you can do it, cmon." She muttered to herself, Chloe watching her with a look of annoyance at her melodrama. She waited for Beca to finish, which she did after ten or so seconds, her body lurching forward with a bump of Chloe's hip into hers. She let out a groan of disgust as her fingers fumbled with the baby grow, finally managing to undo all the buttons after a few failed attempts, the garment falling looser but still containing his arms and legs.

As Beca removed the boys chubby arms from the sleeves, he began to wave them in discomfort, letting out a few shouts of discontent at Beca's rough actions. Chloe opened her mouth to tell the shorter girl to be gentle but Beca spoke before she did.

"Sorry squirt, I'll take it easy. We just need to get you cleaned up because no offence but you smell worse than the kitchen after Amy attempts to cook." As Beca spoke softly to the little boy, his movements slowed and he stared back at her with wide eyes. So did Chloe, who watched her friend- who was usually so dismissive and moody to any living thing- interact so gently with the tiny human in her hands and smiled slightly at the sight of Beca carefully and lightly remove his limbs from the baby grow before pulling the garment off and throwing it to the corner of the sink, leaving him just in his diaper.

"Nice job Mary Poppins." Chloe complimented as she readjusted her grip on the boy, her face flickering with pain at the burn in her arms. Beca saw her momentary lapse and before she could even think about it she had held her hands out in invitation to take him. Chloe had to take a moment to process the action.

Firstly, Beca Mitchell was offering to hold a baby. The idea in itself was a juxtaposition but here it was in action. Secondly, just the picture of a still sleep rumpled Beca stood in her pyjamas and a jumper making the offer to her made her pause and her heart jump a little. It was like they were a team, like parents who had been woken early and had to take care of their own baby. Chloe quickly shook her head to remove the thoughts and transferred the boy to Beca's grip.

They awkwardly fumbled in the handover, Beca's hands brushing Chloe's as they swapped so it was Beca holding the boy in the sink. In the whole changeover process, the baby babbled away to himself, his hands reaching out to try and grab tempting strands of loose hair to no avail, making him wiggle frustratedly. As he writhed in Beca's grasp, Chloe's hand shot out to cover Beca's in case of emergency. When the baby stilled again, happy to tug on Beca's sleeve to try and chew on it, Chloe slowly removed her hands just enough so only her fingers rested on Beca's wrist.

"Holy f-" Beca stopped herself before she swore, partly due to self control but mostly to the warning glare from next to her. "How heavy is this thing?" She huffed, her arms nowhere near as strong as Chloe's. Chloe shrugged before she moved her fingers from Beca's wrist to the fastening of his diaper. The girls took one last look at each other, dreading the inevitable chaos that would come the second they undid the sticky fastening. They grimaced together and then Chloe quickly undid the diaper.

"Oh fuck." Beca made no attempt to stop her cursing this time round and even Chloe thought about it at the overwhelming smell. Beca pressed her face into her shoulder, covering her nose in her jumper and still holding the boy at arms length- in fact, maybe even a little further away considering he was now also naked and smelling overwhelmingly of poop.

Chloe worked as fast as she could, removing the diaper from the baby and breathing exclusively through her mouth to try and prevent the smell from being quite so potent in her nose.

"I didn't know so much poop could come out of something!" Chloe said exasperatedly between dry retches, Beca laughing into her jumper at the gingers comment. When the diaper fell away into Chloe's hand she held it at arms length away and opened the cupboard underneath the sink with her free hand. After a few seconds of blindly fumbling she felt her hand come into contact with the stash of plastic shopping bags the Bellas kept under the sink in case of emergencies such as this. Her fingers closed around one and she brought it out, kicking the door shut behind her.

In a series of swift and hurried movements that Beca almost blinked and missed, Chloe threw the diaper and baby grow into the plastic bag, tied it up and shot out the back door. Beca watched as she ran out to the big metal trash can, throwing the plastic bag into the container before slamming the lid down with force. As she walked back to the house, frowning at the sensation of the cold pavement on her bare feet, Chloe took in breaths of fresh air and for a split second contemplated staying outside for a while before realising that Beca was still stood in the kitchen holding a poor defenceless infant.

When Chloe entered the kitchen, she expected Beca to be mad at how long it had taken for her to return or for her to have dropped the baby or to have just abandoned him in the sink in favour of working on her mixes upstairs. What Chloe did not expect was Beca to be talking to the little boy with a grin and animated faces.

"Where is she? Huh? Where's Red, squirt? Hmm?" Beca beamed, making the little boy giggle as he waved his hands toward Beca happily. Beca brought him slightly closer so his chubby fist closed in the material of her jumper, but not so close considering he was still sort of covered in (green? Why was it green?) poop. Chloe closed the back door, making Beca snap her head round, her sunshine disposition wiped now she was no longer alone, much to Chloe's disappointment. Instead of tease Beca, Chloe grinned at the smiling boy and walked the short distance across the kitchen without a comment.

"Here Becs, gimme." Chloe held her hands out, seeing how Beca's arms had begun to tremble under the strain of holding the boy over the sink, Beca more than happy to relinquish her hold and hand him back to her redhead friend. The tiny boy also seemed to approve of the handover too, squealing with delight as Chloe's hands replaced Beca's and she blew a raspberry at his smiling face. Chloe smiled too, the baby being so adorable and giggling with delight that she couldn't help but reciprocate. Then she heard a third laugh in the mix, making her turn her to head to look at the source.

Beca stood next to Chloe, her left shoulder pressed ever so slightly against Chloe's right, her lips turned up in a soft smile as she watched the still nameless baby babble away to himself as he waved his arms in the air. Beca felt Chloe's stare after a few seconds and turned her head to meet her gaze, the smile dropping from her lips in an attempt to keep her badass emotionless facade that she at least half attempted to uphold. Chloe made no effort to stop smiling however, simply gazing at Beca with soft eyes that Beca couldn't help but be drawn to. Chloe almost, very very almost, leaned down to press her smiling lips to Beca's straight ones but before she let the thought fully form in her head she straightened, turning her head back to face the baby in the sink pointedly. Beca shook her head out of her reverie and grimaced as she realised they still had to wash the little boy of the (green, seriously green?!) poop that he was covered in.

"Okay, what do I do?" Beca asked, her hands hovering in front of her body in preparation for Chloe's instructions. The little boy reached out and grabbed at her hands, Beca willingly letting him latch on and put her thumb in his mouth knowing it didn't matter because she'd definitely be washing her hands at least thirty times after the next few minutes. Beca watched as Chloe took in a breath and her eyes scanned around the room, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she formulated a plan.

"Um… Okay, well, get a J-cloth and we'll just have to use the tap I guess?" Chloe shrugged as Beca blinked at her, letting the plan sink in. Then she let out a long groan of disgust and stuck her tongue out, making Chloe laugh and roll her eyes. Still, she marched across the kitchen to the cleaning cupboard and scoured the shelves until she found a new packet of cloths, removing one from the packet before slamming the cupboard closed and dragging her feet back over to the sink.

She looked to Chloe with pleading eyes, just to be met with a sympathetic smile and a nudge of Chloe's elbow.

"Good luck." Chloe tried to say seriously, holding back the laugh that threatened to bubble over at the fact that Beca would have to do the cleaning after insisting so vehemently that she would not. Beca just glared at her before pulling out the tap from the holder and turning it on, holding the cloth under the stream of water for a while until she was content that the temperature was just the right side of warm.

Beca looked into the bright blue eyes of the boy and shook her head with a grimace, knowing that she was about to get well acquainted with him despite having only stumbled upon him not an hour ago.

"Sorry in advance junior but I'm not gonna like this either." Beca spoke deadpan to the boy who fell silent at her quiet dreading tone. And then she took a gulp of air in preparation and lifted the gentle stream of tap water so it was running over the boys lower half. He screamed at the contact of water and initially Chloe panicked the water was too hot, but then Beca was shushing him and making funny noises as she wiped his legs clean and his protests died down to nothing more than whimpers of discontent rather than loud screeches of pain. Chloe watched as Beca worked quickly but efficiently, choosing not to mention when Beca got some of the unfortunate substance on her hand lest Beca use it as a weapon.

After a few minutes of rinsing and wiping the boy all over in a bizarre DIY bath/shower/sink combo, using the lavender hand soap to make sure he was really clean, Beca turned the tap off, content with her work. She slotted the tap back into it's holder and threw the J-cloth straight into the pedal bin- because even though it had been rinsed thoroughly, it had definitely fulfilled it's role and was no longer fit for further use. Beca dried her clean hands on the dish towel that laid by the draining board and then slung it carelessly over her right shoulder. Then, without any prompt, she reached forward and covered Chloe's hands with her own, relinquishing her hold on the squirming boy. Chloe retracted her arms and watched as Beca lifted the boy from the basin, holding him a little closer to her body as she turned from the sink.

"Over there on the island Chloe." Beca spoke, not looking at Chloe as she said it but instead checking the little boy over to see if he was 100% clean. Because of the lack of eye contact and the fact that she was distracted by the sight of Beca Mitchell willingly holding a baby Chloe had make a hum of question in order to get Beca to clarify what she meant.

"Sorry, can I have a blanket? From the island?" Beca asked again, this time looking up into Chloe's eyes. Chloe shook herself and moved into action, trying to settle her thoughts back to the matter at hand instead of wondering if Beca would act like this with her own kids. She moved over to the island and picked the tartan wool blanket from the top of the pile. She recognised it to be one from Beca's closet, as they had pulled it out on many a cold night to cuddle under whilst they watched TV on Beca's bed. Completely platonically of course.

Chloe plucked it from the top of the pile and unfolded it, moving over to stand in front of Beca. She stretched her arms out whilst holding the blanket as an invitation for Beca to move the very naked little boy into the confines of the woollen blanket, which Beca did, gently transferring him into Chloe's arms, which she wrapped around and underneath the squirming boy's body until she was holding him securely, ready for Beca to tuck the blanket into him and bundle him up.

Beca took a step back and grinned widely at the little boy, making him laugh as Chloe held him.

"What are you doing there? You're a little flasher, squirt!" Beca laughed, making Chloe smile widely at her interaction. Before Chloe could react to the cute interaction with a teasing comment, Beca crossed her arms and grabbed the bottom of her olive green jumper, pulling it up and over her head. She struggled a bit with her hair and relinquishing her arms, but then she was stood in just her sweats and an old Ramones t shirt that used to belong to her Dad but she now wore as a sleep shirt after the graphic on the front had worn out.

"Who's the flasher now, hmm?" Chloe smirked, watching as Beca pulled down her t shirt back over her waist where it had ridden up past her navel with the removal of her top layer. Beca blushed and made a half hearted attempt at a scowl before she turned the jumper back so it was no longer inside out.

"Says the resident exhibitionist of the Bella residence." Beca raised an eyebrow as she stepped forward and raised the jumper in her hands carefully over the little boys head. Chloe laughed, too distracted to retaliate with a joke about Beca not complaining before because she was too busy watching her friend manoeuvre the baby in her arms gently until he was swamped in the massively oversized jumper. Beca rolled the sleeves up, tucking them until they were securely shorter and the little boys tiny fingers just about poked out the end. He still didn't have anything on his bottom half, but the length of the jumper covered him and Beca tucked it so he was bundled up in the warmth.

"There we go. Don't follow in Red's footsteps little guy, put some clothes on." Beca took the extra material of the blanket and wrapped the little boy up, tickling under his chin to make him smile and grab at her finger. Beca let him as she smiled up at Chloe in achievement at having got the baby clean, dry and warm.

"Nice job Becs. You're a natural." Chloe nodded, tightening her hold on the boy and bringing him closer to her chest in a bundle, which the little boy happily accepted and laid his head against Chloe's collarbone, one of his hands relinquishing his hold on Beca's fingers to bunch in the collar of Chloe's t shirt and the other one going to his mouth so he could suck his thumb.

Beca stroked the back of his head gently and shrugged.

"That's got to be the worse of it over right? How much worse can it get than poop?" Beca laughed, Chloe making a hum of agreement as she rested her cheek on the top of the boys wispy blonde hair, a sudden wash of broodiness flooding over her at the sensation of the little boy wriggling in her arms to get comfy.

"Don't get too attached there Mom." Beca poked Chloe in the arm at her sign of affection. "We still don't know who he belongs to. He's sure as hell not ours." Chloe pouted as she squeezed the boy tighter in a cuddle, ignoring how her heart jumped at the way Beca said he wasn't theirs, like them having a child was not completely preposterous.

"I know, I know. I just love babies. They always smell so good." Chloe punctuated the statement by pressing her lips to the blonde hair, smelling him as she did it. Beca furrowed her brow, dropping her hand from the boys hair to rest back at her side.

"He definitely did not smell 'so good' just now." Beca pointed out, making Chloe let out a small laugh.

"Okay, true. But still." She smiled down at the little boy who was still sucking his fingers as his eyelids drooped in her embrace. "You can't help but admit he's so cute." Beca rolled her eyes but still looked down at the little boy, moving into Chloe's body a little in order to get a proper look at the bundle of blankets.

"Fine. He's a little cute. Whatever." She conceded, staring at the small boy fondly. "But he's still not ours. And the second we find out whose he is, we're handing him over and charging them by the hour for our impromptu babysitting service." Beca concluded, moving away from Chloe to sit at the kitchen table, leaving the redhead to slowly sway the boy from side to side as he fell closer to sleep.

"Ugh, fine." Chloe looked over to Beca, who had pulled out her phone again. "I hate when you're right." Chloe joked, throwing Beca a wink before she turned her attention back to the boy, readjusting her hold slightly on his back. Beca watched her as she did this, not even realising she was doing so with a wistful smile plastered on her features. She managed to catch herself before Chloe refocused her attention on her, choosing to bury her head in her phone to continue her search for the missing parents of the little boy in her best friend's arms.

For saying that they were just two college students who had stumbled blindly upon a baby in their kitchen, Beca thought they were doing an okay job at caring for him. I mean, he was all bundled up, clean and fed and watered, drifting off to sleep in Chloe's warm embrace as she walked slowly around the kitchen. Beca had never really seen the appeal of children before. She knew she would probably want them one day, but after the job her parents had done of her she was hesitant, in no real rush to interact with any sort of infant until she was much much older. But now, as she sat watching Chloe coo gently at the little boy cuddling him to her chest as she wandered around their kitchen wearing just her light blue pyjama t shirt and black pyjama shorts, her red hair still ruffled where she had slept on it, Beca could see the appeal in babies. Could see how having a baby with someone would be pretty great.

It was nothing to do with the fact that Chloe was holding the baby. No way.

It was just that Chloe was so content and Beca could see herself being that way in the future, a little bundle in her own arms as she walked around her own house with her own partner smiling up from her own kitchen table. Maybe the little human in her arms would have red hair, Beca found herself wondering before she shook the thought away, choosing to just watch Chloe instead.

She watched as the baby began to shuffle about in Chloe's hold, despite Chloe's best efforts to shush him and keep him calm. It was clear he was getting tired from his grumpy face that poked out from the tartan blanket and he let out a few whines of discomfort. Chloe readjusted her hold, holding him sideways so he was cradled in her crossed arms in an attempt to let him sleep. The little boy, however, did not appreciate Chloe's good-natured adjustment in grip and let out a loud cry as he was removed from the warmth of her chest. Chloe rocked him gently, trying desperately to keep him quiet but after a few seconds of him wriggling and Chloe not moving him, he breathed in deeply before he let out a long, loud scream.

And all of a sudden, Beca's appeal in babies dissipated.

She covered her ears as the little boy screamed, tears rolling down his face quickly as he flailed around in Chloe's arms, the girl flinching and wincing at the deafening high pitched screams, no hands free to cover her own ears. It was all very reminiscent of Fat Amy trying to hit falsetto notes, Beca thought. Though at least you could tell Amy to be quiet. Not a baby, despite Chloe's best efforts.

The two girls looked at each other, desperate for the other to help them stop the crying. They were award winning acapella team captains, they were partners in crime, they were best friends and most of all, they were pretty lousy babysitters. And the way the boys cries echoed around the kitchen, he quite agreed.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, here we go. Next chapter. Seriously, this story is so dumb but thanks for sticking around for it! Loving all the theories and all your comments- feeling the love, so thank you.

...

"Oh my god, Becs do something!" Chloe shouted at her friend over the noise of the boys screams, fighting to keep him securely in her arms as he flailed around, only getting more frustrated when his arms got tangled in the tartan blanket he was wrapped up in. Chloe tightened her hold on him as he kicked his legs, his feet making contact with her ribs and knocking the wind out of her a little with each kick.

Beca stood from the table hurriedly, making her head spin a little with the blood rush, then crossed the floor to stand in front of Chloe who had taken to bouncing the baby up and down in another attempt at getting him to stop his crying. He responded by taking in a big gulp of air, making Chloe look down for a second in hope that he had stopped, before he released the air with a long scream.

"Hey, cmon little guy, lets stop that noise, please?" Chloe panicked, smoothing the boys hair as he cried into the room, tears and dribble rolling down his face dampening Beca's favourite blanket. Beca looked up at Chloe as she stood in front of her, hands outstretched in case she needed to make an emergency catch if the boy's writhing movements became too violent.

As it turned out, it wasn't just falling that needed to be taken into consideration when it came to the hectic movements, as before either girl could stop it, the little boy had managed to wriggle an arm free from the constraints of the blanket and swung it frustratedly in the air before his tiny chubby fist made contact with the left side of Chloe's face with all the force an eight month old could muster- which although not much, still made Chloe let out a cry of surprise and her ears ring.

"Fuck!" Beca shouted, jumping forward to instantly wrap her arms around the bundle in Chloe's arms, pulling him backwards until he was clasped awkwardly in her arms, limbs still flailing. Chloe let her take him, too focused on the pain in her cheekbone making her eyes water to worry if Beca had a proper hold on him. She rubbed at her cheek, trying to soothe the pain there as she let out a groan at a particularly sore spot just below her eye that she knew was going to bruise nicely over the next few days.

"Are you okay?" Beca asked Chloe above the noise of the crying, shuffling the little boy back into the blankets and pulling him tighter into her chest so as to prevent a similar fate to what Chloe had just suffered at his tiny hands. Chloe nodded, one hand to her face and the other holding a thumbs up in lieu of actual words. Beca accepted the non-verbal assurance and refocused her attention to the highly frustrated infant in her arms instead.

"Oh come on now squirt, big bad Chloe can't be that bad." Beca spoke to the small boy in a high pitched soft tone, trying to soothe his cries as she squeezed him comfortingly in her arms. The boy obviously disagreed as he let out another loud wail. In response, Beca cradled the back of his head and pulled him so his head rested on her shoulder, one hand stroking the back of his hair and the other holding him under his butt to her chest. The little boy continued to cry loud gaspy sobs, his tears and snot dampening her shoulder but Beca just continued to pat his butt and bounce him up in down in an attempt to make him stop by copying what she saw exasperated mothers do in coffee shops all the time when their babies were screaming the house down.

"This thing is louder than you at a karaoke night, jeez." Beca huffed at Chloe, who had recovered from her assault and had come back over to help Beca. Chloe gasped in mock offence and swatted Beca's arm.

"Shut up, you love it. You always want to duet with me." Chloe smiled smugly, knowing she was right. Beca readjusted the small boy in her arms to hold him more securely before she rolled her eyes in retort.

"Yeah, well, you're the only one who'll sing anything I like." Beca argued. Chloe raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, calling out her lie without even having to say a word. "It's not like I have a choice." Beca continued. Chloe's smile quirked up a little more. "Oh shut up." Beca gave up, making Chloe laugh, the noise a welcome change in soundtrack to the little boys whines and cries.

Which, now that Beca tuned in again, had decreased in volume significantly since she had hugged the boy closer to her shoulder.

She decided to further test her theory and shuffled the boy down until his head was resting on her collarbone. After the initial movement, wherein the boy had let out a loud shout of protest and kicked his feet slightly (and ow Beca's stomach was nowhere near as strong as Chloe's because shit that hurt), Beca shuffled the blankets so the little boys face was now pressed into her chest and his body tucked up in blankets again.

At the warmth of Beca's skin pressed against his cheek, along with the constant soft pats and rocking, the little boy all but fell silent, his loud shrieks dissipating into small whimpers that became even quieter once he put his three fingers in his mouth to suck on in place of a pacifier.

Chloe looked up at Beca with wide eyes and an slack-jawed look of disbelief.

"Who are you and what have you done with Beca Mitchell?" Chloe laughed, still mostly from shock that the younger girl had managed to quell the screams reverberating around the kitchen. Beca scowled back, her hands still continuing their comforting motions and her feet carrying her around the kitchen floor as she paced with the boy in her arms. Chloe stepped into Beca's space and looked down at the infant in the blanket bundle in her arms. He looked back up with teary blue eyes before he shuffled closer into Beca's warmth, his free hand gripping the collar of her t shirt and pulling on it to make her squeeze him closer, which Beca did before he pulled her t shirt any further down and caused any more embarrassment.

"Seriously, you are so cute Becs." Chloe pinched Beca's cheek, making the younger girl tut and kick Chloe away playfully, trying her best not to jostle the now quiet boy in her arms. Chloe dodged Beca's foot with a laugh, before moving back to stand next to her friend.

"I'm just looking out for my ears. Kinda gonna need these if I ever want to make it in music." Beca's sarcastic comment lost it's punch because the little boy let out a well timed soft cry at the end of her sentence and Beca reacted instantaneously, cradling the boys head and resting her cheek atop his hair to make him stop before he started. Chloe raised an eyebrow at her friend's soppy actions.

"Sure, you just keep telling yourself that, big bad Beca." Chloe patted her friends head, making Beca scowl again. Chloe knew that Beca hated when she did that, implying she was short and therefore the target of patronising actions such as head pats or leaning down to be spoken to (mostly by Stacie and Aubrey, the stupid tall aca-bitches…). Chloe smiled innocently in return, ignoring the annoyance radiating off her friend, and simply tucked a wayward strand of brown hair that lay across Beca's eye back behind her ear in a friendly helpful gesture. A friendly gesture that led to a friendly cradling of Beca's cheek and a friendly thumb tracing her cheekbone.

Suddenly, Chloe realised what she was doing and dropped her hand quickly, choosing to stroke the small boys blonde hair instead, averting her gaze from Beca's to watch the little boy bunch the fabric of Beca's t shirt up in his hand tighter, knowing now that it would make his human cradle respond accordingly. And sure enough, Beca squeezed him, one of her hands dropping to tuck the blankets into him, making him even more cosy against her chest.

The kitchen was quiet again, all three humans in it content with just the sounds of their breathing and the whirring of the fridge. The sight of the small boy nestled into Beca's chest made Chloe smile, it only growing as Beca leaned slightly into her without even realising, too focused on watching the little boy lest he begin crying again.

But he didn't. Not when they were stood quietly, or when Chloe crashed around the kitchen putting away breakfast items and making two plates of toast- one with peanut butter for her and one with vegemite for Beca. No, the little boy simply sat in Beca's embrace as the girl sat at the kitchen table, sipping at her leftover juice and chatting away to Chloe about random stuff until Chloe made her way back to sit at the kitchen table across from Beca. She slid the plate of toast over before picking up one of her slices of peanut butter up and biting off the corner. She chewed as she watched Beca extract one of her hands from holding the boy to pick up her one slice of toast and bite off the middle, straight in the most vegemite heavy part.

"I don't get how you can eat that stuff." Chloe grimaced through a mouthful of peanut butter. She waved her half eaten slice in the air before continuing, Beca watching her in amusement all the while. "It tastes like dook."

Beca laughed through a mouthful of toast, swallowing before she replied.

"Very vivid imagery, thank you." She said sarcastically before taking another pointed bite of the bread. Chloe made a face of disgust, retorting by eating her own breakfast- her own normal breakfast.

"My Mom used to eat it all the time. I guess I was just brainwashed into liking it." Beca shrugged, biting off the last piece of toast with the spread on it before handing the crust with just remnants of butter on to the little boy in her arms who had perked up at the sight of food. He took it happily, trying his hardest to chew on the crunchy crust with his small teeth.

"What?" Beca asked with her mouthful as she looked up to Chloe, who was sat opposite her, toast in hand and a wistful smile on her face. Chloe shook her head, her eyes dropping to the toast in her hand and away from Beca.

"Nothing, just imagining little Beca before she was all mood and ear monstrosities." Chloe winked before taking another bite of her toast. Beca laughed, swallowing her mouthful before speaking.

"I'll have you know I was freakin' adorable Beale." She jabbed her finger in Chloe's direction, making the little boy let out a quiet giggle from behind the toast crust. Chloe laughed too, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear before resting her chin on her hand and her elbow on the table.

"Oh I believe it, Mitchell." She winked, making Beca retreat her finger with a blush. Chloe laughed, chewing on her toast as she watched Beca wipe the crumbs away from the boys chin and let him take a sip of juice from her cup carefully. It was like they had been doing this for months, sitting and eating breakfast together whilst one of them fussed over a little baby and the other did the other menial tasks. It was like they were a tiny family.

Not that they were. They were just friends. Best friends.

But best friends could be a family too, right? That was how life worked, surely?

That was the thought running through both girls heads, not that they would ever voice it, choosing instead to eat toast and coo at the baby instead. The baby that they both imagined to be their future baby.

Seriously, just best friends.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay, before we start, I am sorry for the delays on this story. I'm kind of writing loads of stuff at once and keep forgetting to actually ever finish anything- oops!

Anyway, this is the next chapter of this story and it's still as dumb as it was when it started! As always, all your feedback makes me super stoked so keep it coming!

...

After toast had been eaten, plates cleared away and drying on the draining board, the small boy was still sat in Beca's arms and the girl had become used to the warm weight of him there. She wouldn't admit it, but she almost began to enjoy holding him, his tiny hands poking at her and his nose pressed to her neck when he threw his arms enthusiastically for a cuddle. Chloe teased at how Beca instantly responded, pointing out how it was Beca that had warned her not too get attached.

Beca was about to argue but was cut off when the boy's stomach gurgled loudly and he farted loudly, ending it with a giggle. Instantly, he was thrust into Chloe's arms and Beca was flailing around the kitchen, Chloe laughing at her crazed arm movements as she tried to dissipate the smell.

"Oh my… Jesus, babies are so gross!" Beca exclaimed, shaking her t shirt in an invisible attempt to get rid of the smell. Chloe laughed, adjusting the laughing boy in her arms so he was sat comfortably before she stood and walked past Beca into the living room, ignoring the necessary melodrama still occurring in the kitchen.

"He can't help it because he's just a little guy, aren't you?" Chloe spoke more to the little boy than to Beca, who had reluctantly trudged into the room behind her friend. Beca fell to the sofa in a huff, her legs sprawled out along the majority of the length of the cushions and her body slouching the rest of the way. For a tiny person, she sure could take up a three seater. Well, usually, but not when Chloe was around because she briefly swatted at Beca's ankles, making the slouching girl retract her feet until Chloe had sat down before setting them down on Chloe's bare lap a second later. It was so normal for them that Chloe didn't even bat an eye, too focused on babbling away to the little boy who was now fully awake again. Beca just leant back on the arm of the sofa and watched for a while.

"What do you think his name is?" Chloe asked after a while, holding the boy so he was sat on her knees (or more on Beca's feet) and her hands were on his back to hold him so he could face her. Beca's jumper still sat loosely around his small body and the blanket had mostly been discarded to lie around his feet. Beca looked him over for a good while before turning her head back towards Chloe.

"I don't know," Beca crossed her arms in thought. "Danny?"

Chloe regarded her with confusion before furrowing her eyebrows and asking, "Danny?"

Beca nodded, a smirk playing on her lips, before she brought up her hand up to hold her outstretched index finger in front of her face.

"Tony would like a satsuma please Mrs. Beale." Beca said in a bad impression, moving her finger with the words like Danny in the Shining. Beca finished by dropping her hand, grinning proudly at her own joke. Chloe rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small laugh that slipped past her lips as Beca continued to laugh.

"Did Beca Mitchell just make a movie reference?"

"Nope, book." Beca folded her arms in triumph, a smug smile on her features. Chloe pinched the exposed skin of Beca's ankle that sat on her lap, wiping the smirk from Beca's features instantly to replace it with a scowl.

"Well, he's basically possessed so I think Danny. Or maybe Damien? Or Lucifer?" Beca rattled off, ignoring how Chloe was shaking her head.

"He's not possessed. He's not even that bad a baby!" The boy proved Chloe's point by clapping his hands and laughing. He really was a well behaved baby, even Beca had to admit, and the two girls had certainly lucked out at finding him and not Rosemary's Baby.

Chloe made funny faces at him and the pair laughed, Beca watching them from the other end of the sofa. She watched them for a minute or so before digging into the pocket of her sweatpants and retrieving her phone. Quickly, she swiped across to the camera app and held her phone up, lining up the shot.

It was when both humans were laughing and smiling that Beca snapped three photos in quick succession. Chloe looked over, the telltale camera noise giving Beca up instantly.

"What're you doing?" Chloe asked, adjusting the little boy to sit further up her thighs so he could tangle his hands in her hair to play with it. Beca locked her phone and dropped it in her lap.

"Uhhh… I was just…" Beca stumbled, picking at a loose thread of her t shirt as she tried to come up with an excuse that wasn't just 'you looked cute'. She shrugged, "Taking a photo to send to people, see if they recognise him." Chloe looked back through narrowed eyes, not believing the story one bit but accepting it for the time being.

"Sure. Weirdo." Chloe turned her attention back to the little boy again. "I really wish you could talk right now little one, because Aunty Beca and Aunty Chloe need to know your name." Chloe told the boy brightly as he stared up at her. He responded with a long series of babbling, the two girls watching him until he ended it with a definite 'bah' sound and smiled.

"Yeah, last time I checked, Bababafffbalammbah wasn't a name." Beca deadpanned, instantly receiving an eye roll from her friend before she gave up and laughed at the bad joke. Beca smiled at her triumph, the sound of Chloe's laugh keeping it there. "Anyway," Beca continued when Chloe had stopped laughing and looked over to her again. "He has a name."

"He does?" Chloe asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Beca nodded and leant forward to grab the little boy's hand lightly, his fingers gripping instantly around her thumb with glee.

"Squirt."

The little boy let out a shriek of happiness and clapped his hands together at Beca addressing him. Chloe grinned at the sight of it.

"Is that it?" Is that your name?" Chloe tickled the little boy's stomach and he writhed around in a fit of giggles before he settled again, slightly slumped in Chloe's lap. "Squirt?" Chloe asked, testing out the name. And as before, the little boy broke into happy babbling and smiled widely. Chloe laughed and looked to Beca, who just shrugged.

"Told you."

The two girls looked back to the boy- or Squirt- and grinned. Sure, it was a dumb name, but it worked and considering they had no leads otherwise, Squirt it was to be.

The scene was interrupted by Beca's phone ringing. She looked down and frowned at the name lighting up her caller ID before jumping off the sofa and answering the call in the kitchen with a confused, "Hello?".

With Beca just out of earshot, Chloe turned her attention back to the little boy, bouncing him on her knees and pulling funny faces as she held him upright. The boy clapped and giggled as Chloe stuck her tongue out, his chubby hands reaching out and pulling her closer to him. Chloe responded by blowing a long wet raspberry to his cheek, eliciting a shriek of happiness and laughter from the baby that made Chloe laugh right back. She carried it on in a game as Beca continued with her phone call in the kitchen, her voice just quiet enough couldn't quite hear what she was saying over the boys babbling.

It continued for a few minutes until Beca finally came back into the room, throwing her phone onto the coffee table with a iota of force but enough for Chloe to pull her lips away from the little boys hands and stare up at Beca, who was now pacing with her hands in her hair.

"What?" Chloe asked, nervous at seeing Beca so angry and not knowing whether it was justified or just normal Beca dramatics. "What's happened Bec?"

Beca stopped, dropped her hands from her hair into balled fists at her sides before looking Chloe in the eyes. She took a breath in through her flared nostrils before getting out her words through gritted teeth set against a clenched jaw.

"I'm going to kill Amy."


	7. Chapter 7

Here we are. The next installment in the great Bechloe babysitting saga of 2017. Loving the love for this story, so thanks everyone! The story unravels further, but I think some of you have got the idea of what's going on...

Anyway, let's go.

...

"Woah woah woah there Mitchell, calm down before you have an aneurism."

Chloe stretched an arm out, trying to reach the pacing girl whilst still keeping a hold of Squirt who was staring into space just as confused as Chloe. On the fourth run of the living room, Chloe managed to lean just a little further and grabbed ahold of the hem of Beca's t shirt, tugging it to pull her close enough to place a firm hand on her waist. The skin to skin contact of Chloe's hand just underneath her t shirt made Beca freeze in her tracks, looking down at the concerned redhead.

"Tell me what's going on. Please." Chloe demanded before adding the please, not liking how stern she sounded. She paired the request with an absent stroke of her thumb on Beca's waist, which almost made Beca shiver but she covered it up by quickly moving to sit next to Chloe on the sofa.

"He's Amy's." Beca said after a moment of silence. Chloe's jaw dropped open noiselessly. Then a string of spluttering noises came out, of which Beca didn't react, knowing the slew of questions that were to follow.

"Wha- who- I mean- WHAT?" Chloe finally got out, lifting the little boy up and back into her arms as he began to fuss being out of arms reach. He settled against her chest and instantly began to play with a strand of hair.

Beca turned to her, phone in hand and sighed.

"Well, he's not Amy's. Not like that." Beca shook her head and Chloe let a long sigh of relief that Amy had not yet reproduced because oh god what on earth would the child be like? "He's her nephew." Beca said, gesturing to him with a wave of her hand.

"Okay, but what is doing here?" Chloe asked, looking at Beca who was shaking her head again.

"I don't know!" Beca yelled, standing up again. Chloe took in a breath, steeling herself for a trademark 'Beca Mitchell is confused and frustrated about it and is now going to shout about her problems' tirade. And sure enough, Beca began to pace again.

"She rang and so I was like 'hi, where are you, by the way there's a fucking BABY in the kitchen!' " Beca threw both her hands out to point at said baby violently before continuing. "And so she was like 'oh hello to you too and oh yeah that's ma nephew he's visiting isn't he so damn cute?' " The terrible Australian accent Beca was angrily using almost made Chloe laugh, but she knew if she did then it would just anger Beca even more and they really didn't need Squirt crying again.

"And so I was like, 'yeah he's precious, we've cleaned up his shit by the way and I'm going to put it in your fucking bed and oh also quick question- if he's here just kicking with me and Chlo then WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?'. To which she gave some bullshit answer about being with her sister in law and thinking that Jess was here- which I know was a lie because Jess is never here on a Thursday and she knows that."

Beca had done a solid ten laps of the living room as she ranted, arms flying everywhere and an angry look plastered on her face. The whole scene was actually amusing to Chloe, which was bad because she knew that she should be taking it as seriously as Beca because let's be honest leaving a baby unattended was irresponsible even for Fat Amy. But the way Beca flailed and ranted made Chloe let out a small giggle against her own will. Beca's attention snapped instantly to the sofa with a glare.

"Chloe! This is serious!" Beca said sternly, confused as to how her friend found any of this remotely funny. Chloe nodded, smothering the smile behind her hand until she sat up with a straight face.

"You're right. Sorry Becs." Chloe apologised. "Continue."

Beca glared at her for a moment more, just to check she wasn't laughing before launching back into her tirade. The pacing started instantly.

"Anyway, so she just says 'oh be a mate and just watch him until I'm home, I shouldn't be long, I'll be back at five or so, thanks Beca you're a real pal.' " There was that awful accent again, and Chloe really fought every instinct in her to laugh at the younger girl again, knowing it would do nothing except wind her up even more.

"So," Beca began, distracting Chloe from her attempts to not laugh. "Long story short, it's just me and you and Squirt for six or so hours, we've got no supplies, no information and no chance." She flopped down onto the sofa, hands over her face. "We're fucked."

Chloe chewed on her lip for a moment in thought as Beca lay next to her. Chloe looked into the small boys blue eyes and saw nothing except a harmless adorable baby. He was just a baby. She could do this. _They_ could do this. They'd won championships. Heck, they managed to look after the Bellas, a little baby was no match for them.

"Becs, it's okay." Chloe shuffled on the sofa with the boy until they were sat facing Beca, who removed her hands from her face to reveal a frown. "He's only a baby. We can do it." Chloe smiled, lifting the boy over so he was sat in the space on the sofa between the girls, still wrapped in Beca's jumper. Chloe held onto his hand, the chubby fingers gripping onto her slender fingers. Beca looked nervously at the distracted redhead.

"I don't know… I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not exactly mothering material. I can't even keep fish alive."

Chloe couldn't help but laugh, remembering the disaster that was Beca pet sitting the Bella fish last Spring Break.

"That wasn't your fault. How were you supposed to know that that bird would fly into the kitchen?" Chloe got out after she was done laughing. Beca scowled in response.

"Anyway." She said pointedly, trying to move the conversation away from the embarrassing loss of Sharp, Flat and Fishsticks. (Names that were somehow the best out of all put forward in the Bella meeting where the fishes names had been decided.)

"You really think we can do this?" Beca asked incredulously, nodding to Squirt who was happily wrapped up in Chloe's lap making happy babbling noises and holding a strand of her hair in his fist. Chloe smiled brightly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Why not?" Chloe grinned, making Beca smile without even realising it. Damn Chloe Beale and her infectious cheerfulness. "We just need to stock up on supplies and crush this."

Beca nodded, Chloe's confidence instilling some newfound confidence of her own. She sat up straight, cracked her knuckles and held her hands out in an invitation to take the baby out of Chloe's arms. Chloe raised an eyebrow in question, not having to even ask why she was offering before Beca told her.

"Well we've got to get dressed, so I was just going to put him in his chair for a minute, give him a banana or some shit to keep him occupied whilst we're upstairs."

Chloe gasped like she'd heard someone insult her mother. She pressed a hand to Squirt's ear, covering it before stage whispering. "We can't leave him alone! He's a baby, Beca."

Beca dropped her hands.

"Well, you wait here and I'll get dressed then." Beca said as she stood from the sofa. In response, Chloe completely ignored her and stood as well.

"Don't be silly Becs, I'll get changed in your room, then he doesn't have to be alone and we can get out to the store quicker. I was just thinking that dollar store off campus?" Chloe reeled off as she walked out of the living room with Squirt sitting happily on her hip, giggling at being carried.

Beca, however, was still stood still, not even answering Chloe's question, too distracted by her friends blasé announcement of getting dressed in the same room. With a baby. What even was Beca's Thursday this time round?

At the sound of Chloe calling her name from the hallway, Beca stumbled back into life, banging her ankle on the coffee table as she hurried out of the empty living room to join Chloe, who was halfway up the stairs, chatting away to the little boy in her arms.

The three of them stopped off at the bathroom and Chloe handed Squirt over to Beca before she grabbed her toothbrush and put a blob on toothpaste onto the bristles. Beca sat on the edge of the bath, Squirt perched on her lap and clapping his hands happily as he watched Chloe brush her teeth.

"So what do we need from the dollar store, do you think?" Beca asked, tucking the jumper back round Squirt as he squirmed around, trying to reach out for Chloe's fingers that she was waving to him with as she grinned around her toothbrush. Chloe stood, thinking for a moment as she brushed before she stopped and pulled her toothbrush out of her mouth.

"I unno. Ifers, ood, ebby um oves? Ooh an oys?" Chloe garbled through her very full mouthful of toothpaste foam, Beca just watching with a confused look as Chloe dribbled and spat unflatteringly. Chloe finished her sentence and looked expectingly down at her friend.

Beca stared for a moment.

"Nope. Didn't understand a word of that."

Chloe laughed at that, trying desperately to laugh with her mouth closed lest the foam there dribble anymore than it already was. As a result, she snorted loudly into the room, hand flying to her face with wide shocked eyes. Beca mirrored the shocked reaction with a bark of laughter in disbelief before cracking up, laughing loudly into the room.

Chloe turned and spat the foam into the sink, a blush forming across her cheeks as Beca continued to laugh at the embarrassing noise. As a result of Beca laughing, Squirt had started laughing too, clapping his hands and squealing in delight on Beca's lap. Chloe turned round, attempting a glare but the sight of Beca cuddling a baby and the pair of them laughing so brightly made her smile despite her best attempts not to.

"Shut up. God, I'm so unattractive." Chloe rolled her eyes at herself as she turned back to face the mirror so she could wash her face of any remaining toothpaste foam or sleepy dust.

"No you aren't, you dumbass." Beca finished laughing, shaking her head with the ghost of her smile still on her face as she met Chloe's eyes through the mirror. Chloe smiled back.

"I think that counted as a compliment?" Chloe joked as she squinted at Beca, who just shrugged before returning her attention to the little boy to her lap. Chloe washed her face and then turned around to take Squirt from Beca so she could complete her bathroom routine.

The process was repeated, except without any embarrassing noises and with the added step of Chloe gently wiping clean Squirt's face and hands with the washcloth whilst all the while having a conversation with the baby talk he was garbling. Beca watched them as she brushed her teeth, a fond smile on her face that she didn't realise was there until she turned back to the mirror.

Thank God Chloe didn't see her smiling at her like an idiot. So what if Chloe Beale holding a baby and chatting away to him as she sat in her pyjamas with no make up and wild bed hair made her smile? It would make anyone with a heartbeat and a soul smile, Beca concluded, trying desperately to scrabble an excuse so she didn't feel bad for having the tiniest crush on her best friend.

Damn it. She had a (teeny tiny) crush on her best friend.

Good thing they didn't have to do something together all day and Beca could have some time to herself to process her own self-realisation. Not like they had to do something ridiculous and domestic as essentially acting as joint parents to a baby.

Oh wait.

They did.

Beca sighed loudly as she stared at herself in the mirror.

What was her life?


	8. Chapter 8

Just a short chapter this time round in preparation for the next one! Still as light and dumb as ever. Hope you guys enjoy!

...

They managed to get dressed without too much of a drama, despite Beca's recent self-realisation still swirling around her mind and the presence of a baby who was getting gradually more aggravated at the lack of attention being paid to him.

Beca was just swapping her earrings in the mirror for smaller ones that would be harder for the little boy to grab on when she heard him babble frustratedly from where he was sat on her bed, still bundled up in her jumper with the addition of some socks on his bare feet too. Everything was too big but it did the job, Beca supposed. It was only very temporary and he would be changed into his own baby-sized clothes once they returned from the store.

The boy yelled angrily at the two girls bustling around the room and Beca went to go over to him, her fingers still fumbling with the bar running across the top of her left ear but was beaten to it by Chloe.

Chloe who was still shirtless, just wearing light blue jeans and a plain black bra, the shirt she had chosen from Beca's closet laid on the bed forgotten for the time being. At seeing her friend crouching in front of the little boy to fuss over him wearing nothing on her top half, Beca span back round to face the mirror with a blush smattered across her face and her fingers fumbling significantly more so with the metal bar.

The problem with mirrors, Beca forgot, is that they were made to be reflective, meaning she could still see the toned muscle and pale skin of Chloe's naked upper half, the muscles in her shoulders moving as she fussed over the boy sat on the bed. Beca finally managed to click the bar into place but did not move from the mirror, redoing her hair atop her head just so she could continue to look surreptitiously at her best friend. (Totally not perving. Just ensuring she could cope with the baby, she tried to convince herself.)

When Squirt had finally cracked a smile after Chloe handed him a bunch of keys sat on Beca's nightstand ("Hey! Those are important!" "Oh whatever Becs, this is just keyring with a house key on!" "….Yeah, but important keyrings.") Chloe stood and smiled down at him. Beca just about managed to take her eyes off her best friend by the time she had turned back around, breathing a sigh of relief at not being caught staring whilst simultaneously trying to get some sense into her askew brain. She could figure out the whole 'having-a-crush-on-her-best-friend' later, for now she just needed to focus on the little boy that had been dumped upon them by her soon to be dead Australian roommate.

"Can I borrow some deodorant please?" Chloe asked from the other side of the room, making Beca turn in place. She was still shirtless, the plaid shirt held in her right hand and Beca's deodorant in the other. Beca gulped silently, making sure her words didn't come out high pitched or flustered.

"Sure." Success. Normal tone and normal delivery. Nice one Mitchell, she congratulated herself in her head. Chloe didn't have any clue of her internal monologue, just spraying the deodorant on and then slipping the slightly too big grey plaid shirt she had borrowed from Beca over her head, pulling her hair out afterwards to lay across her shoulders, the various copper tones contrasting the grey pattern making it seem even more red than usual. Chloe pushed the sleeves up on the shirt and fussed over the shirt until it hung the way she wanted. It was baggy but not so baggy that Beca couldn't still see the curves that she had just had an unobstructed view of.

In short, she may have only been wearing a shirt and jeans with her makeup yet to be applied but Beca's suspicions that she was crushing on Chloe Beale were cemented in the way her heart stopped at the sight of her and an embarrassing "guh" noise escaped from her lips before she could stop it.

Chloe looked up at Beca at the noise, a confused yet amused smirk playing on her features. Beca snapped her mouth shut with an audible clack of teeth.

"What was that Becs?" Chloe asked, teasing definitely evident in her tone in revenge for Beca laughing at her in the bathroom earlier. Beca tugged at a loose thread on her white t shirt before shrugging and feigning indifference. The light pink tinging her cheeks gave her away though.

"I said, uhhh ready to go?" Beca improvised, Chloe clearly not buying the lie but accepting it for the time being with a knowing smile. Beca slipped her wallet into her pants and Chloe scooped up Squirt into her arms, making sure he was tucked up in the jumper and navy blue blanket before she turned to Beca.

"We're ready, aren't we little one?" Chloe grinned to the baby who happily clapped his agreement. Beca couldn't help the smile on her face as she rolled her eyes at the two's connection. She couldn't help but feel like Squirt had picked a favourite and it would become clear just who that was as the day progressed. Chloe perched Squirt on her hip and walked across the floor until she stopped next to Beca, who had yet to move. She held Beca's keys in the air, having commandeered them back from Squirt. Beca took them gently, her fingers brushing Chloe's and sending an electric shock feeling to her fingertips.

"Come on then, my other little one, let's go shopping." Chloe winked before walking out of the room, singing some Disney song to Squirt, who babbled along happily.

Beca would've moved to follow her but the affectionate nickname was still buzzing around her head, almost as if the electric shock had kickstarted a circuit that was fuelled by affection from Chloe Beale.

She was her little one. Chloe's.

It was dumb and Chloe was probably just joking, but it didn't stop the dazed smile from appearing on Beca's face as she stood in the middle of her bedroom. She heard Chloe call her name and snapped out of it instantly, turning quickly and just managing to grab her phone on the way. She was whipped and they weren't even together.

'Yet.' Beca hoped silently as they walked from the house, baby in arms and determination on their minds.


	9. Chapter 9

Here we go, the next installment of the Barden Babysitting saga. Sorry about the delay but do know I'm working on stories all the time! Hope you enjoy this chapter and the ever growing romantic tension.

...

Although the Dollar Tree was just off campus about a half an hour walk away, the two girls decided they would take Chloe's car due to the cold weather and how it would definitely affect the hurriedly dressed little boy in his DIY outfit of Beca's clothes. They just needed to get him some proper clothes, stat. It was only a matter of time before he peed and completely ruined Beca's favourite jumper, she thought as she drove as fast as the speed limit and Chloe would allow.

"Slow down Becs. Aretha won't handle much over 60." Chloe said from the passenger seat, Squirt bundled up and held securely in her arms due to lack of a carseat. Beca slowed slightly as she drove the straight, her palms itching at the thought of the baby pissing over her clothes and fighting the urge to flatten her foot to the floor to get to the diapers quicker.

"Still can't believe you call your car by it's name." Beca rolled her eyes, glancing at her friend with a smirk. Chloe tutted and scowled back.

"Of course I do." She reached out with one hand and patted the dashboard. "Aretha has lasted me since sophomore year of high school. She's like family."

"Yeah, just like family like she's a dying grandmother." Beca retorted, prompting Chloe to gasp and poke her side playfully. Beca jumped in her chair, hands tightening on the steering wheel with the shock and her heart beating a little harder at the contact.

"Dude, I'm driving!" She scolded ignoring how her two passengers laughed at her. In retaliation, Beca just turned on the stereo moodily and sighed heavily as she heard some cheesy pop trickle through the ancient speakers of the Toyota Prius. Chloe sang softly to Squirt whilst holding him snugly in her lap, letting Beca drive and try to focus on the road as opposed to the adorable sight happening in the seat next to her.

After a short drive that seemed to last for hours for Beca, the car rattled up to the Dollar Tree juttering to a halt before stalling in a space. Chloe smiled sheepishly at her ancient cars antics, Beca just shaking her head with a laugh before unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her car door to go and help her friend.

She walked round the car, steeling herself in preparation for this inevitably difficult shopping trip. Not difficult in that they were shopping for a baby- no, that was easy; he was basically a potato with arms and legs who wouldn't give a shit what he was dressed in or what he ate. It was that she would have to walk round the store with an effortlessly beautiful best friend who she had a crush on as they acted as parents to said potato. Starting with close physical contact as she helped her and Squirt from the car.

With a deep breath and a tightening of her hair tie, Beca reached the passenger side.

"Here we go, you go to Mama Beca." Chloe spoke brightly to the little boy still sat on her lap after Beca had swung open the car door in preparation to take the baby. But suddenly at hearing Chloe's words her arms felt like jelly and she could barely hold her own weight, let alone a whole other humans.

The way that Chloe had so freely called her that… It was like they were parents and suddenly Beca was hit full force with an overwhelming realisation that she wanted that. Not now, no, but in the future. With Chloe Beale. Oh shit she was in deep. She'd never even thought about it and yet here she was, a 20 year old with a full blown future falling into place in her own imagination, her 23 year old best friend conducting it and taking the starring role alongside Beca herself.

All she'd wanted to do today was eat lasagna and have a lie in. Not have an epiphany for her deep set feelings for Chloe Elizabeth Beale that she had tried to repress for the years she had known her.

"Becs?"

Beca blinked hard, her eyes swimming into focus at the action. She realised she had been staring down at Chloe, who had an amused smile on her lips as she sat in the car, Squirt bundled up in her arms who was also staring up at her with his mouth agape and dribbling. Beca tried her hardest to regain her focus but the matching set of bright blue eyes looking up at her made her already pounding heart flutter.

'No, Beca, you are in college and this is not your baby.' she thought. 'For gods sake, take the lump from your friend and stop imagining you're playing happy families.'

"Hmm, yeah." Beca coughed before reaching down and scooping the bundle of blankets from Chloe's arms. Even from underneath Chloe's shirt and Beca's sweatshirt, Beca could feel the warmth of their arms press together in the transfer of the baby but Beca didn't have time to dwell on that as Squirt grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged playfully at being in her arms again.

'Talk about favourites.' Beca thought to herself as she stood with a wince at how hard the boys chubby fist was pulling at the sides of her hair, tugging the strands from her already messy updo. 'Chloe gets cuddles and laughter and cute smiles whenever she's holding him but me? No, I get crying and farting and my hair pulled out of my fucking skull. Great.'

Her thought track was interrupted by the sound of the car door slamming and the lock turning as Chloe locked it with the keys that Beca didn't know when she had snatched from her. Beca turned to look at Chloe, a smile on her face that Beca wanted to emulate but failed due to the grimace of pain of Squirt kicking his feet excitedly into her stomach.

"Okay people." Chloe addressed the two in front of her even if only one of them could understand. "Mission Supply Stock is ago. Everyone know their role?" She commanded as she pocketed the keys in her jeans. Beca looked around in confusion, glancing into the eyes of the eight month old in her arms before back to her friend.

"Uhh, Chlo?"

"Yeah?" Chloe asked as she checked through her wallet seemingly counting the crumpled dollars in the mostly empty cash compartment, not looking at her confused friend.

"You know it's just me and Squirt, right?" She spoke slowly in case Chloe was confusing this dollar store run with one she would do with the Bellas before a movie night when they had to grab drinks and snacks.

"Sure I do." Chloe shrugged with a smile, pocketing her now closed wallet in the back pocket of her jeans. "Beca, your job is to find food, clothes, toys, diapers and bottles." Chloe explained as she walked over to Beca's side, who was furrowing her brow in disbelief.

"Well, if that's my job then what's yours?" Beca snapped. Chloe just smiled, used to the younger girls temper, and took the baby clasped in her arms back into her own, Squirt squealing happily and wrapping his arms around Chloe's neck as he cuddled into her.

"Our job is to look cute. And pass judgement on the things you pick out." Chloe winked down to Beca before walking off towards the shopping carts at the front of the store, missing how Beca's cheeks blushed. Beca didn't know that babies could look smug, but as Chloe walked away Beca could swear that Squirt had a look on his tiny face like he was a kitten that got the cream- if the cream was a cuddle from Chloe Beale.

'Absolutely not,' Beca thought as she followed behind them with a scowl still playing across her features. 'I am absolutely not jealous of a baby. Get it together Mitchell.'

By the time she'd caught up, Chloe had utilised her longer legs and made her way across the parking lot and over to the shopping carts, picking out a large one with a seat in the front for the little boy perched on her hip. She pulled it out with her right hand and moved it away from the line so she could focus on the inevitable struggle of getting a baby to sit in the seat. Beca sighed, knowing that instruction was imminent.

"Hey, take him a sec for me Becs?"

There it was.

Beca trudged forward, scanning the parking lot in case there was anyone she knew from Barden around who would report this back. Whether that be to the Bellas or Jesse or even her Dad in a worst case scenario, she didn't want word getting out that Beca Mitchell was seen playing Moms with Chloe Beale. She shuddered thinking about how fast that rumour would spread.

After being satisfied there was no one of interest in the parking lot, Beca scooped the baby into her arms, folding the blankets back in on him where they had fallen slightly so the chilly October air didn't get onto his bare legs. Well, she tried to as best she could as said baby kept reaching out and whining for Chloe, who was setting up the plastic seat and corresponding safety belt on the shopping cart. She made a funny face at him that seemed to entertain him enough that he settled somewhat in Beca's arms, leaning back against her chest so he could watch Chloe.

'Yep, definitely no arguments to the favourite paren- babysitter!' Beca thought as she also watched Chloe, preparing herself for the next command. And as Chloe stood straight from the cart and turned slightly, Beca was ready and waiting. She did not expect Chloe's eyeline to fall to the little person in her arms instead.

"Come here then little man, let's get you all buckled in." Chloe spoke in a bright smiley tone to the boy, who subsequently babbled his agreement and wriggled in Beca's arms. Beca walked over to the cart, gripping tightly onto the wriggling boy so he wouldn't slip as she went. She then, as Chloe held the cart still with one hand and held the other out in case of emergency, transferred him with a lift into the small plastic seat. Chloe leant into Beca, tucking in all the blankets underneath him before Beca placed him down as gently as she could manage. And then, with a click of the buckle around his waist, he was in. And they were ready to shop.

Both girls went to grab the cart at the same time, their hands meeting on the handle of the cart, Beca's landing atop Chloe's and squeezing gently thinking it would be the plastic of the handle.

Beca shot back like she had received a major electric shock, her hands flying back to her sides with a sharp inhale. Chloe laughed, slightly confused at her reaction, but as Beca looked up at her with an apology already forming on her lips she could see something else in Chloe's eyes. But before she could figure it out, Chloe had pushed the cart forward and towards the doors of the store, once again leaving Beca to scamper after her.

Once Beca had caught up, Chloe was parked up next to a display of chips and was smiling at her friend, a scowl being the only form of retaliation from Beca. Chloe just smiled wider.

"Okay, so we need…" Chloe took out the small list she had written in the car, unfolding the yellow post it and scanning the slightly shaky handwriting on it. "A bottle, formula, clothes, diapers and gummy bears." She read out, ending with a smile and stuffing the note in her jean pocket satisfyingly. Beca looked to Chloe, confused.

"He can eat gummy bears?" She asked, wondering how Chloe knew quite so much about this baby who couldn't even communicate with them.

"I don't know. I just want gummy bears." Chloe shrugged. Of course, Beca should've known that if she was paying that Chloe would inevitably test her luck and try and get some candy out of the situation. Not that Beca could complain this time, seeing as Chloe was spending her day off with her and helping her with the baby that they had been forced into babysitting against their will.

Beca rolled her eyes as she nodded, a silent promise to buy her best friend a bag of gummy bears. Chloe grinned and kissed Beca on the cheek as she often did when she got her own way before she turned back to the cart and fussed over Squirt whilst she pushed the cart slowly down the first aisle. Beca shuffled after her, cheeks hot with blush and the feeling of Chloe's lips on them, her heart beating in her ears and her feet somehow manoeuvring on their own because Beca's mind was definitely not focusing on their path; they naturally followed the girl with the red hair, just as they had always done.

They went round the store fairly quickly, mostly because Beca was hyper aware of the ever growing danger of the baby who Chloe was blowing raspberries and laughing at pissing all over her favourite jumper. Beca tossed the items on their shopping list into the cart, not stopping to check offers or sales; she just wanted to get it and get home.

It was just over ten minutes until the cart was full and they were searching for an empty lane to pay in. Chloe pushed the cart to a till with a smiling elderly woman after she waved to show she was free. As they pulled up to the till, Squirt let out a small cry of annoyance at how far away the two girls were from his reach as they unpacked the shopping onto the conveyor. Chloe dropped the two packs of gummy bears from her hands back into the cart and moved over to the fussy baby to unbuckle him from his plastic seat. Beca rolled her eyes in annoyance at having to unpack the packs of diapers and baby grows and socks and bottles and food onto the belt, all whilst Chloe was enjoying a cuddle from the baby and a nice chat with the elderly attendant.

"What a beautiful baby you've got there." The old woman smiled as she scanned the packet of pacifiers they had bought. Chloe beamed and tickled Squirt's tummy, making him laugh gleefully into her shoulder.

"I remember when my little ones were that tiny. Cherish it my dear because once they grow up, you'll long for these days again." The attendant reached over and tapped Squirt lightly on the nose, prompting his toothless grin to appear on his adorable face once again. Beca smiled at the interaction as she emptied the last few items onto the belt and pushed the cart to the end of the till. And, seeing as Chloe was still too preoccupied with the baby in her arms, Beca started to pack what had been scanned into plastic bags. She couldn't help but feel like this entire shopping trip had been just a bit one sided…

"That'll be $28.50 please." Beca heard as she was transferring the last shopping bag into the cart. She stood straight as she turned back to Chloe, just to find the redhead smiling sheepishly at her. Beca sighed as she waited for the inevitable question.

"About that… I don't actually have any money… Do you mind getting this one?" Chloe asked, her blue eyes wide and pleading. And Beca was never one to say no to those eyes. So she pulled out her card from her wallet and begrudgingly payed the kind old lady behind the counter as Chloe kissed her on the cheek again, this time laying a hand on Beca's lower back so she wouldn't topple her balance with the baby in her arms. Beca blushed furiously, the same tingle as before finding it's way onto the same spot on her cheek, as she fumbled her card and wallet back into her pocket and mumbled a thank you to the cashier.

"Well, I must say, you two make a very cute couple. This little one is very lucky." The cashier beamed at them as she printed their receipt. Beca turned around, the words of protest against them being a couple already on her lips but they were drowned out before they could even surface.

"Thanks very much!" Chloe reached out and took the receipt from the woman outstretched hand. "Have a nice day." She smiled before crumpled the receipt into her jean pocket and hitched Squirt further up her hip so she could walk away, leaving Beca to awkwardly smile and stutter a goodbye to the sweet old lady. She almost played it off, until she stumbled pushing the cart of supplies after her friend. She couldn't help it, she was still foggy minded from dumb happiness about Chloe. Her best friend and now apparent mother of their imaginary child.

Beca mentally kicked herself as she exited the store alongside Chloe and said imaginary child; this was all getting out of hand. Plus a foggy mind is no good when you were driving back to the house that you shared. To take care of a baby. That you, according to Chloe, shared.

This had quickly gotten out of hand, Beca thought with a sigh.


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, here is the next long overdue installment in this tale. Love that people are still sticking to this, it means a lot.

Also, I'm always reading your feedback (usually smiling stupidly because it's super cool to hear what people think, especially when it's so nice) and I try to incorporate what you guys want to see at all times, so hit me with any suggestions!

Also also, please check out my other stuff if you like this one because I'm updating with new stuff constantly!

Okay, no more also's, let's crack on with this nonsense.

...

The drive back from the store seemed to be over in an incredibly short time and it occurred to Beca as she pulled the keys from the ignition with a tug that she had driven on autopilot on the way home, her mind still buzzing with newfound revelations and her cheek still warm from the two kisses planted there. That probably wasn't the best idea with a baby that wasn't even hers in the car but they were home now, so what did it matter?

In a continuation of what had happened at the store, Chloe had been in charge of holding the baby and 'supervising', as she put it. This basically meant that it was Beca lugging the three plastic bags of shopping and locking the car whilst Chloe bounced the baby and blew raspberries on his cold cheeks, making him giggle. Beca blew a strand of hair from her eyes, seeing as her hands were juggling shopping bags and keys, managed to unlock the front door and stumbled through the house blindly until she reached the coffee table in the living room, where she promptly dropped everything in a pile on the surface.

"Careful Becs, don't break anything." Chloe called from behind her as she entered in the room, still holding the little boy in her arms who was clapping and babbling away to himself. Beca just turned around slowly and glared at Chloe, trying her hardest to be angry at the girl but failing miserably due to the fact that Chloe wasn't even paying attention to her. Instead, she was chatting back to Squirt like they were having their own little conversation in a language that Beca was yet to be let in on whilst she crossed the floor to the discarded shopping bags on the table.

"You're lucky you two are so cute or there's no way I'd be sticking around for this shit." Beca pointed at Chloe with a glare as she moved past her to the fridge. Chloe laughed from the living room and Beca could hear her rustling through the shopping as she drank juice straight from the carton. Beca finished her mouthful and capped the juice before wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her jumper and throwing the carton back in the door.

"So we're cute then, hm?" Chloe asked with a grin as Beca came back into the room and sat down on the sofa where Chloe was stood a few feet away by the coffee table. Beca's eyes widened as she realised what she had just said but instead of addressing it or even trying to defend herself, Beca leant forward and grabbed the stripy baby grow they (or more accurately Beca) had bought from the store along with the pack of diapers and pushed them toward Chloe.

"Go on then, get him into these before he pisses over everything I own." She nodded to the little boy who was chewing his fingers whilst still wrapped in two blankets and Beca's green jumper. He had been in them for nearly an hour and the danger of him urinating was an ever growing problem. Chloe didn't seem to get the urgency however, preferring instead to cock her head and look down at Beca with a confused smile.

"How come I'm changing him?" She asked. Beca's mouth dropped open a little in disbelief and she was about to launch into her second rant of the day before Chloe laughed and Beca realised she was just joking. Beca playfully kicked her in the leg as the two girls laughed.

"You can do it because I just blew like $30 dollars on baby stuff and I bought you gummy bears. That's why, Beale." Beca shot back as she folded up one of the spare blankets into a makeshift changing mat before standing and placing it carefully on the floor of the living room. Beca then stood and went over to Chloe and held her hands out in invitation to take the baby so Chloe could navigate her way to the floor with the necessary equipment.

"Touché." Chloe grumbled, handing over the baby to Beca. Squirt whined a little at being jostled but Beca held onto him tight, hand cradling the back of his head and fussing over the wispy strands of blond hair in comfort and that seemed to settle him enough for Chloe to grab what she needed and set everything up on the floor.

At seeing Chloe kneel down, Squirt kicked a little, desperate to be on the floor with her after they had formed a bond. Beca bounced him and tickled her fingers into the mass of blankets on his tummy and he let out a squeal of delight.

"Hold on little guy, Red needs to get ready to change you." Beca spoke brightly to the little boy who was still giggling into her shoulder. "Meanwhile, Beca is going to eat all of the gummy bears and not deal with the pee you're definitely going to put everywhere."

Chloe sat bolt upright and pointed a finger at Beca.

"You dare Mitchell." She said more seriously than Beca thought she would've done. Clearly she was very excited to eat the candy. She had such a serious look on her face that Beca didn't even have a smart comment to retaliate. Instead she just shook her head and held Squirt out for her to take, feeling slightly frightened of her friend for the first time in a long time; Chloe was the epitome of sunshine, so when she was anything but that Beca had learnt to be very cautious.

Chloe took the baby from Beca, scooping him up with all the blankets but held a stern gaze into Beca's eyes, making Beca gulp nervously. Then Squirt made a cry of attention and Chloe broke her stare to smile brightly at him. Beca deflated at the bright smile being back on Chloe's face knowing that she was no longer treading dangerous waters and collapsed onto the sofa so she was sure to be no part of the changing.

Beca watched as Chloe removed the blankets and socks from the equation, placing them in a pile next to her as the little boy she was removing them from squirmed around on the mat, kicking his arms and legs out furiously in frustration at being just out of reach.

"Hang on little guy, you can't go running around with no clothes on." Chloe chuckled, removing the jumper from his body and leaving him naked on the mat whilst he rolled onto his stomach and push his body up slightly with his chubby hands.

"Why not? You don't seem to abide by that rule much?" Beca said sarcastically from her place on the sofa. Chloe sat up on her knees and span round to face her, a diaper in one hand and a wipe in the other. Beca raised an eyebrow at her and Chloe laughed in disbelief at the comment before she answered.

"That was one time and that was only because I didn't think anyone was home."

"So not true, you do it all the time. You know towels exist right? You don't have to walk across from the shower to your room naked?" Beca teased, grinning at her own joke as she watched Chloe expertly put a diaper on the squirming boy despite his squeals of protest. Well, at least one of their problems was solved and he wouldn't piss on anything.

"Oh, Becs, I didn't know you were looking." Chloe said before looking over her shoulder to Beca, whose grin had promptly dropped from her face at her friends words. "Otherwise I might've taken longer to get from A to B." She winked before she laughed and grabbed the baby grow that was laying on the floor next to the small pile of used wipes.

There was a beat where Beca just opened and closed her mouth, trying desperately to think of a witty comeback to that, but her brain was flooded with images of a naked Chloe Beale and she fell silent. Luckily, her (not very PG) train of thought was interrupted by the star of said thought clapping her hands after a minute or so.

"There we go! All clean!" Chloe sang to the little boy, who she had picked up just high enough so his feet were still on the floor and he looked like he was standing, just with Chloe's hands wedged under his small armpits to hold him up. "What a handsome little Squirt." Chloe smiled before pressing a load of kisses and a bonus raspberry on his chubby cheeks. He let out a shriek of giggles and kicked his legs and arms out in joy at the girl's affections, prompting her to do it another two times.

Beca found herself laughing and smiling stupidly at the pair of them. Of course Chloe had some insane natural mothering instinct that she had kept hidden. Beca supposed it helped if your heart was pure sunshine like Chloe's. She tried to think about something else to get the dumb grin off her face before Chloe turned around and saw her, but the image of Chloe doing the same thing but with a little baby with red hair like her own and with eyes of a darker blue just like Beca's distracted her completely.

She really needed this babysitting thing to be over so she could have some serious self-reflection.

"Hey, Bec?" Chloe asked, snapping Beca back to reality. (Which Beca thanked her silently in her head for because it gave her time to adopt a more neutral facial expression rather than that of a lovestruck imbecile) "Take him for a bit? I really need to pee."

Beca didn't even have time to respond before an equally clueless eight month old was plonked down on her lap and Chloe had run out of the room, just about taking the time to call out a "Back in a bit!" before she was gone. Beca looked into the wide blue eyes of the little boy and smiled awkwardly, suddenly not really knowing what to do with the tiny human sat facing her.

"Um, hey there little dude." She tried to copy the high sing-song voice that Chloe had so naturally adopted when talking to the baby, but it came out as a forced grimace of a sentence that instead of his usual wide grin, made Squirt just blink back at her. Beca put her hands under his arms and lifted him in the air to try and readjust her legs, seeing as she could already feel her leg going had under the weight of him.

At being lifted so swiftly into the air, Squirt let out a big pitched giggle, clearly enjoying the motion. He landed back in Beca's lap and was still laughing away as Beca laughed back.

"That funny, huh?" She asked him, knowing that he couldn't really answer but taking his dribbly smile as a yes. She repeated the motion, lifting him into the air, a little higher this time. Again, he laughed wildly and waved his arms in joy and Beca laughed at him when he came back down. She did it again, all but throwing him into the air, but not actually doing so because she knew that if Chloe walked back she would swiftly confiscate him and Beca would get an earful about responsibility and not throwing children around like they're footballs.

After the fifth time of throwing him and the little boy still laughing, making his cheeks very pink with where he was giggling so much- with Beca's very much the same- Beca readjusted her grip and lifted him above her head just to hold him there.

"What you doing up there Squirt?" She asked him with a laugh. He waved his limbs around and babbled away happily at being in the air, his blue eyes staring down at Beca. "You're like a little astronaut, up in space!" Beca smiled at him. He didn't understand her, not even having a concept of the English language let alone space and space travel, but he let a squeal of agreement nonetheless.

Beca laughed again, shaking her head as she brought him back so he was sat on her lap again, facing her. She hated to admit it, but he was kind of adorable and when Amy came home (and Beca had finished beating the shit out of her for abandoning this infant with her) and took him back to her sister, Beca was kind of going to miss him.

Well, she was mostly going to miss playing Mom with Chloe, but she daren't admit it to herself.

"You returned from space in one piece then?" Beca asked him as she tickled his tummy and bounced him on her knee. Squirt laughed and grabbed at Beca's hands, trying to clasp onto her wiggling fingers. Beca let him grab one and waved it around with his tiny fingers wrapped around it.

"You're kind of cute, you know that?" Beca chuckled as Squirt tried to chew on the end of her finger with his three teeth. She pulled her hand from him and continued to bounce him to keep him entertained.

She was about to say something about how she wanted a baby just like him someday but she was rudely interrupted.

Squirt burped and then promptly projectile vomited onto Beca's t shirt and lap.

She froze, one eye closed where vomit had flecked near it and her mouth open in shock.

And then the smell hit, Squirt let out a scream of discomfort and Beca dry heaved all at once. She took in a breath, trying her best to ignore the putrid acidic smell and not look at the inevitable mess down herself.

"Chloe!"


End file.
